Stages of Love
by ChocolateWonder
Summary: Sometimes, being best friends isn't enough. Sometimes, maybe you want to be more than just best friends. Chenry. Review, please!
1. Butterflies and Initial Attraction

_"If you can't get someone out of your mind, maybe they are supposed to be there. Remember, 'The mind can recognize what the heart is trying to deny.'" ~Unknown_

* * *

Those big brown eyes of his were so damn irresistible.

If Charlotte could be absolutely sure about anything, it was the fact that the universe had it out for her. It was her own fault for being so soft.

She, Henry, and Jasper were pacing in the Man Cave. Well, actually, it was Charlotte doing the pacing, and Henry and Jasper were lounging on the couch, snacking noisily on chips and popcorn. In addition, Jasper was scarfing down a peanut butter and pickle sandwich, which looked completely unappetizing to Charlotte, considering that peanut butter and pickles didn't go well together in her book. _Boys._

Charlotte occasionally glared at them, and the boys were pretty sure that she was giving them a verbal lashing in her mind. That didn't matter to them, unless Charlotte actually started ranting. That was their cue to run for the hills. You _never_ messed with an angry Charlotte. _Never._

Unless you had a death wish, of course.

She was more destructive than an army of the worst villains in the world. She could find your one weakness and twist it until you fell to your knees, pleading for mercy.

Long story short, _don't_ make her cross.

Finally, Henry dared to speak. "Hey Char, want a chip? They're sour cream and onion, your favorite," he offered, dangling a chip from his fingers.

Her hand lashed out and sent the chip flying. Henry wrung his hand, staring incredulously at Charlotte. "What was that for?!"

"' _Hey Char, want a chip?'_ unbelievable. Is that really all you care about?" Her voice was unusually high-pitched.

Her emotions came pouring out. Henry looked at her, then at Jasper, who shrugged. "Don't look at me. It was your idea."

Henry, who seemed to come to the realization that he was on his own, tried his best to console Charlotte. "Char, c'mon, I didn't mean anything by it. I was only trying to help," he said desperately.

Charlotte's next cutting remark was broken off by the tubes sliding down. Ray shot down, a look of urgency on his face.

Charlotte and Henry forgot about their argument immediately. Ray hurried to the monitors, as Charlotte began grilling him with rapid-fire questions.

"Well, what'd you call us for? What's the emergency? Is it another criminal? Who is it?" she asked.

"Woah, Charlotte, let the man speak," Jasper chided her.

"Can't talk now, there's a huge emergency. Robbery at the Swellview Bank." Ray closed the screens and beckoned Henry. "Let's go, kid."

Jasper watched the pair in fascination as they transformed.

"Wait," Charlotte called, as they took their positions under the tubes. She locked eyes with each of them in turn, Ray first, then Henry. "Please stay safe," she said meaningfully, her eyes lingering on Henry longer.

Ray appeared not to sense the electricity crackling between them. He said jokingly, "We're not going to get hurt intentionally, Charlotte. Don't be a worrywart."

Henry tore his eyes away from Charlotte's compelling ones, and forced a laugh. "Yeah, Charlotte, we'll be fine," he said reassuringly.

A rhyme popped into Henry's head. "C'mon Ray, we'll make the robber and his partner-in-crime don't steal even a dime."

"Nice!" Ray high-fived his sidekick in celebration, while Jasper applauded in the background. Charlotte rolled her eyes.

"Hello! There's still a robbery going on!" Charlotte waved her hands impatiently, alerting the duo.

"Right." Henry and Ray tapped their belts and shouted, "Up the tube!"

"Remember what I said!" Charlotte yelled after them as they shot upwards.

Schwoz wandered into the Man Cave at that moment. "What's up?" he asked cheerfully, "I was just catching up on 'The Bachelorette.'"

 _Men._

The Man Cave was unusually silent. Schwoz was humming a light tune to himself, meandering around the Man Cave aimlessly.

Jasper amused himself by trying to stump the Auto-Snacker, but it kept yielding a variety of odd food, such as mayo donuts and hot dog spaghetti.

Charlotte didn't have any means of keeping herself occupied, however, so she settled for watching reruns of "Walking Orange."

Her mind was elsewhere, though. She couldn't shake off the feeling that something was off. Her eyes were darting towards the tubes every so often, she was extremely jumpy, and she was more snappish than usual. She figured that she was probably worrying about nothing.

However, after an hour, the unease hadn't worn off yet. Ray and Henry were supposed to be back by now. A robbery shouldn't take a long time to foil.

Finally, the Swellview News logo flashed across the screen, and her heart pounded just a bit harder as she saw the camera focus on two newscasters, Mary Gaperman and Trent Overunder.

"Breaking news, folks. Earlier, we received distress calls from the Swellview Bank. The calls were about a criminal breaking into the bank. Luckily, Captain Man and Kid Danger arrived on scene. It appears that Captain Man has escaped from the bank unscathed, along with Kid Danger. Both are fine. Here's Evelyn with the details."

Jasper looked up, his interest piqued as Captain Man and Kid Danger appeared on the screen. Schwoz hurried to Charlotte's side.

Captain Man looked disgruntled, as did Evelyn. It was understandable, considering the history between the two.

Evelyn practically shoved the microphone into Kid Danger's face, completely ignoring Captain Man's presence.

"Thank you, Trent. I'm here live, standing outside Swellview Bank with Kid Danger," Evelyn reported smoothly, disregarding Captain Man. Said hero looked merely disdainful and did not deign to interject.

Jasper whistled lowly behind her. "Man, that's gotta hurt. Why is she so rude to him, anyway?"

"I'll explain later." Charlotte watched the screen intently.

"So, Kid Danger, what were those robbers after?" Evelyn asked the teenage hero.

Kid Danger cleared his throat before responding, "The usual, of course. Money. That's what most of the robbers want."

Kid Danger was no stranger to the spotlight, therefore he shouldn't have been as anxious as he was.

Evelyn took no notice of Kid Danger's obvious agitation, asking him for more information. Kid Danger answered as patiently as he could, but it was plain to a person with eyes that he was apprehensive.

Captain Man had disappeared. It seemed that he wanted to get away from Evelyn; the tension was too much for him to handle.

Finally, much to Charlotte's relief, Evelyn turned away and said the concluding words. The camera switched back to the newscasters.

"Well?" prompted Jasper irritatingly the moment the weatherman came on.

Charlotte sighed, and she reluctantly told Jasper the story of Evelyn and Ray's complicated relationship. When she finished, Jasper was looking slightly amused and more or less put out.

Schwoz, whose ears had perked up at the chance to listen to another one of Ray's failed relationships, immediately put in smugly, "Well, at least I have a good record with texting women."

"I couldn't do that. All the girls I've dated are psychopaths," Jasper muttered gloomily.

Charlotte gave him a comforting pat on the back. "Well, look at Henry. His girlfriends have either ditched him for a TV show, or been hauled off to jail."

"Jail? I didn't know that," Jasper said curiously.

"You tell him, Schwoz," Charlotte said heavily. For some reason, hearing about Henry's ex-girlfriends irked her more than usual.

Luckily, she didn't have to listen for long. About ten minutes after the interview, the tubes slid down and Henry and Ray landed.

"Ah, home sweet home," Ray said leisurely as he strolled into the Man Cave, still decked out in his Captain Man suit.

Henry followed him; he looked more exhausted than he did on TV. He immediately made eye contact with Charlotte, giving her a weary nod in acknowledgement.

A fleeting thought crossed her mind. _He's safe. With me._

Charlotte shook herself. Where had that come from?

Meanwhile, while she was berating herself for that thought, Henry and Ray had popped gumballs into their mouths and transformed back into their normal selves. Jasper flitted around them, awestruck.

Ray shook out his shoulders and flopped down on the couch. Henry went over to the Auto-Snacker.

"Pepperoni pizza," he requested.

"Pepperoni pizza," the machine echoed, and a massive steaming hot pizza topped with gooey mozzarella and sizzling pepperoni appeared inside.

"Mmm," moaned Ray hungrily. Charlotte had to admit that the pizza looked delicious.

The quintet (Henry, Ray, Charlotte, Jasper, and Schwoz) dug in ravenously. They ended up having to order another one, as the first one wasn't large enough. They drank gallons of Dr. Pepper and Pepsi, and Ray and Schwoz, as usual, had a debate over which soda was better. This debate, unsurprisingly, grew heated, and Charlotte and Henry had to pull them apart.

A half hour of eating scrumptious pizza and guzzling soda later, the five of them were sprawled out in various positions on the couch.

Ray burped loudly, and the guys groaned, while Charlotte wrinkled her nose. It didn't bother her that she was the only girl among the five. The only thing that mattered was that she was the mature one of the group. Even Schwoz and Ray, who were full-grown adults.

The aura swirling around the group brought a serene atmosphere. Everyone was content and satisfied, and Charlotte looked fondly at her friends. Her eyes stayed on Henry for the longest, for reasons unknown to her. She wouldn't trade any of them for the world.

A sudden warmth enveloped her as Henry opened his eyes and caught her staring. He half-smiled, his eyes fluttering, and Charlotte felt her heart go the same way.

"Something wrong, Char?" he asked drowsily.

"Nothing," she replied quickly, turning the other way so he wouldn't see her smiling from ear-to-ear.

* * *

Piper was upset. Over her phone. This was a daily occurrence in the Hart household, so it bothered nobody when she went on a tirade. However, it became a problem when she began to take out her frustration on household objects. Smashed plates, broken cups, and bowled over furniture normally came out of this. It usually took more than one person to physically restrain Piper, and another one to gently speak to her and stabilize her.

So when the Harts were one person short, they had to improvise. Henry was often away at work, so his parents had double duty. This was the case today.

However, Piper wasn't upset over WiFi, social media, or anything of the kind. Her phone had disappeared and she was furious.

Her mom found her phone charging in Henry's room, since her charger was snapped and they had sent for a new one. Everyone relaxed.

The silence did not last. Shortly after, an ear-splitting scream shattered the silence, and was cut off abruptly. Something swooped in through the youngest Hart child's window, gagged her, scooped her into its arms, and scuttled out.

An evil cackle filled the street as Mr. and Mrs. Hart, unable to do anything, watched helplessly from the window as a figure sprinted down the street, carrying their daughter in its arms.

 **Oh. My. Gosh. A cliffhanger. What's going to happen?**

 **Okay, so I never thought I would be doing this before. This story came on the spur of the moment, so it was completely unplanned. I've been obsessed with love songs recently, so one day, when I was listening to a song of Colbie Calliat's, Fallin' for You, the quote at the beginning of the story popped into my head. And out of that quote came this whole story. It's amazing how one sentence can inspire a whole story, right?**

 **So, as for the sequel of** _ **Regrets,**_ **I lied, and I am so sorry. The thing is, that story didn't do too well, so I've been reconsidering. I'm still on the fence on whether or not the sequel should be posted. I'm still leaning towards the posting side.**

 **Sorry about the lengthy monologue. I guess I will end it here.**

 **Peace and pie,**

 **~AJ**


	2. Unexplained Heat and Handholding

_"You don't walk away if you love someone. You help the person." -Hillary Clinton_

* * *

Chapter 2

 _The night before:_

 _"Hey Char," Henry said, fiddling with elevator button, "I think something's wrong with the elevator."_

 _"What's the problem?" Charlotte asked, walking over._

 _"It's not opening." To prove his point, he pushed the button and yanked his hand away immediately. A blue bolt of lightning hit his hand and died out._

 _"See? It shocked me!" He rubbed his hand gingerly._

 _Henry's phone buzzed as a text appeared on the screen. He skimmed through it, his eyes widening and his face whitening._

 _"I need to go. Now." Henry made for the tubes, but Charlotte halted him._

 _"Wait up! What's wrong?" she asked concernedly, upon seeing Henry's panicked face._

 _Henry thrust his phone wordlessly at her. She read the text, her face growing solemn._

 _"Go. I'll tell Ray where you've gone.''_

 _Henry nodded gratefully and shouted "Up the tube!"_

 _Cops were already on the scene when he arrived, and the rest of Henry's family were huddled on the lawn. Henry's mother was crying._

 _Henry's dad looked up as he approached, distress on his face. "She's gone," he whispered brokenly._

 _"Hey you! Young man!" It took Henry a moment to realize that the policeman was addressing him, "Are you Henry Hart?"_

 _"Yeah, so?" Henry retorted._

 _The cop took no notice of his belligerent tone. "We have few questions for you."_

 _"Fine," Henry relented, "But only a few."_

 _"Where were you when your sister was kidnapped?" the cop questioned, a pen and notebook in hand, ready to take notes._

 _"Are you accusing me of something, sir?" Henry's temper flared up._

 _"No, and be quiet, I'm the one asking the questions," the cop snapped, "Now answer the question."_

 _"Fine. I was working at Junk-N-Stuff. That's my job." Ray could vouch for him later._

 _"How close were you to your sister, on a scale of one to ten?"_

 _Henry bit back a remark._ As if I would kidnap my own sister. _"Eight." That was stretching it a bit, but he loved his sister, no matter how many arguments they had._

 _The cop scribbled it down. "Now, who is your boss at Junk-N-Stuff?"_

 _"Ray Manchester." Why did he need to know all of this?_

 _"Did he come over often to your home?"_

 _"Not really. Why do you need to know that?"_

 _"Just eliminating as many suspects as possible." The cop wrote his response down._

 _"Are you implying something, sir?" Henry asked, his voice rising in volume._

 _"Of course not. We just need to narrow down the number of people that could be responsible for your sister's kidnapping."_

 _"Are you saying my boss is a suspect? That's ridiculous! He was with me the whole time!" Henry protested._

 _The cop ignored his objection. "Thank you Henry, that's all we needed to know."_

 _Henry rolled his eyes as the cop walked away, relieved that the interrogation was over._

 _He joined his parents on the front lawn, closed his eyes, and prayed that this would all go away. When he opened them, the scene was still the same. Red and blue lights flashing, yellow warning tape surrounding the perimeter of their house, and cops scattered left and right._

 _"What happened?" he asked, turning his eyes to his parents, begging for answers._

 _"Your mother and I were just wondering where you were. It was quite late, after all. Then, we heard a crashing sound and Piper's scream, and then it all stopped. We ran to the window, and there it was, holding our daughter and laughing like a madman. Then, it took off down the street, and then we straightaway called the cops and texted you."_

 _His father concluded the story with a sad look on his face. Henry's mother burst into a fresh set of tears. "That evil thing ran off with my baby!"_

 _"And he left this," Mr. Hart added, handing him a short note. It was printed in elegant calligraphy, and emitted a threatening tone._

 _ **"Either reveal to the world who you are, or face the consequences. When you are ready, meet me at the place where the indestructible force met its end."**_

 _A chill zipped down Henry's spine._

 _"I don't what the devil this person is insinuating, but if he lays a finger on our Piper..." Mr. Hart let the threat hang, shaking his head._

 _Henry wasn't listening. He needed to alert Ray. Heart pounding in his ears, he swiftly thought of an excuse._

 _"Hey, Mom and Dad, I'm going to look at the damage to Piper's window, okay? Bye." He didn't let them speak, and darted to the backyard, where he could have some privacy._

 _He flipped the lid of his watch open and Ray's hologram appeared._

 _"Hey Kid, Charlotte told me what happened. How're your parents?" Ray queried anxiously._

 _"Distraught, to say the least. Hey listen, that's not what I called you for, okay? The guy who kidnapped my sister left a note."_

 _"So?" Ray asked._

 _"Listen to what it says." Henry read the note aloud, and Ray's face became alarmed as the words sunk in._

 _"No, this can't be happening," Ray groaned._

 _Return to Present_

"Hey Henry, pass me a banana."

Those were the sole words spoken during breakfast the next morning. Charlotte wanted a banana, so Henry silently passed a banana to her. Charlotte ripped off the skin and bit into it.

The Harts were all stressed and still not over the shock from the night before. Nobody slept at all, judging from the heavy bags under their eyes. Mrs. Hart had forgone her usually tidy appearance and donned a simple blouse and jeans, and not bothered at all to do her hair. It was jarring sight, seeing how much the Harts had changed overnight.

The rumor mill was extremely efficient at its job, so by the morning, word had spread that the Harts' bratty daughter had been abducted and that got everyone stirring.

Now, the Harts were a well-known family in Swellview, and they were generally liked. The oldest, Henry, was a likable boy, but the younger girl, Piper, was infamous for her spoiled attitude and unhealthy addiction to technology.

However, this town wasn't united like the one in "The Grinch." Everybody went about their business, and few offered their condolences, including Jasper, Charlotte, and Ray (as Captain Man).

Charlotte was residing in the Harts' home, and occupied the spare bedroom. Her intent, as she said, was to be with Henry at a hard time. That was partially true. However, her real purpose for staying there was to discuss the pending issue at hand, which was deciphering the note.

Henry could care less about the note; he just wanted his sister back. Finally, Charlotte gave him the ultimatum: If he wanted his sister back, they had to figure out where she was first.

Charlotte hated seeing Henry like this; he was hardly the upbeat friend that she knew. Some part of her told her mind that he would get over it.

And the stupid butterflies wouldn't go away. They still lingered in her stomach whenever she was in Henry's presence.

While Charlotte was dealing with these problems, Henry's parents were struggling to salvage their own. It wasn't just physically they were anguished; it was also emotionally. They had no idea about the sender of the note, nor did they care. Like Henry, they just desperately wanted their daughter back, despite her brazen ways.

It was three days when Charlotte finally coaxed Henry out of the house. They went for a walk in Swellview Park.

"Hey look! It's the ice cream stand! Let's go get some ice cream," Charlotte invited enthusiastically. Henry just grunted his assent, and Charlotte dragged him forcibly to the stand.

"Hiya there, Mr. Hoffman!" Charlotte greeted the man, "My friend and I wanted some ice cream."

"Hey, Charlotte!" Mr. Hoffman's face lit up as he recognized his customer. "What'll it be today? Pecan? Mint?"

"Neither of those, actually," Charlotte sighed, "It's for my friend. Two vanilla ice cream cones, double scoops."

Mr. Hoffman hummed softly under his breath as he fixed their ice creams. He pointed discreetly to the sprinkles, and then to Henry's ice cream. Charlotte nodded.

"Here you go." He presented the ice cream cones. Charlotte took both of them and placed them in Henry's hands.

Charlotte rifled through her pockets until she found the right amount of change. But before she could pay for the ice cream, a rough hand landed in front of her and she looked up to see Mr. Hoffman's smiling face in front of her.

There was a curious tattoo on the side of his neck. A raven. How odd, she noted.

"Consider this one on me, Charlotte," he said warmly, his eyes flickering to Henry, whose concentration was devoted to kicking a pebble with his sneaker.

Charlotte looked at her friend, and then back up to Mr. Hoffman uncertainly. "Why are you being so nice to us?"

"Do I need a reason to be? Consider this a treat for my favorite customer."

"Thanks again!" she called as she walked away.

"C'mon Henry, lick your ice cream before it melts," she chided.

Henry tuned her out. He was in his own world.

Charlotte didn't like this Henry. She needed to get through to him, and fast, before it destroyed their friendship.

"You know what? Let's have a chat." She pulled him over to a nearby bench and sat down.

"Are you going to sit down, or am I going to have to make you?"

Henry sat.

"Listen up. I want you to listen to what I have to say, and no interruptions. Got it?"

He nodded mutely.

"I'm getting _sick_ and _tired_ of your miserable attitude. I _hate_ it when you get like this, honestly I do. I want the _old_ Henry back. You know, the cheerful, easy-going, funny Henry that I used to know. Remember him?"

He sighed heavily. "What do want me to do?"

"Just tell me what's bothering you. Get it all out."

"If only if it was that easy, Char," he sighed, "You know what's bothering me."

"Okay, then. Tell me _how_ you feel."

His pretty coffee-colored eyes were glassy as he elaborated. "It's tearing me apart inside. I never realized that I really, truly loved my sister until she was taken. And I'm just so _exhausted._ Ray and I are working our butts off to solve this crime, and the police are no help _at all._ I just wish we knew what that note meant. That would solve all our questions."

Charlotte sympathized with Henry. Poor Henry, she had no idea how it must feel like to lose a loved one to a person with malicious intentions.

Henry had his head in his hands now. "I swear, if this person even touches Piper, _I will kill him._ That son of a bastard ought to be ashamed of himself, or whatever the hell its gender is."

Charlotte had never seen Henry get this emotional, which was saying something. Henry rarely let his emotions get the best of him, and when they did, it wasn't pretty.

At that moment, Jasper came barreling up to them, his phone in one hand and toting a silver bucket.

Jasper was panting too much to form a comprehensive sentence, so Charlotte let him breathe for a few moments.

"Ray..." he panted, "He wants-wants you—Man Cave."

That was enough information for Charlotte to understand the message Jasper was trying to relay. Without second thought, she grabbed Henry's hand, an impulsive gesture on her part, and Henry looked down at their clasped hands, confused. "Char—?"

Mortified, Charlotte looked at their intertwined hands. Thankfully, Jasper hadn't noticed a thing, otherwise he would've leapt on it.

A light blush crept up to her face as she instantly released his hand. She thanked her dark skin. But she could not deny the tingles that went through her hand at that contact.

Henry, too, had subtle signs of embarrassment. He was rubbing the back of his neck inconspicuously, baffled at the sudden action. And there was no contradicting the fact that a shiver had gone up his spine the moment Charlotte touched him. He had no idea why this had happened, but little did he know, his feelings for Charlotte had changed just a tad.

Charlotte could feel Henry's eyes burning holes into the side of her head, so to divert his attention, she asked quickly, "What does he need us for?"

"Something about a note, I think. I'm too tired to remember." Jasper gasped dramatically as if to enhance his point.

"Great. Let's go." Charlotte had to suppress the inexplicable urge to reach out and hold his hand.

* * *

"Hey, Ray, we're here," Henry said breathlessly, skidding into the Man Cave, Charlotte less than a foot behind him. "Jasper said something about the note...?"

"Oh right." Ray looked up from the couch, from where he was thumbing through an issue of _Playboy,_ the women posing provocatively on the cover. One was giving a seductive smile.

"Well?" Charlotte asked pointedly, trying to mask the repulsed feeling that rose up in her at the suggestive magazine. Beside her, Henry was also feeling similarly abhorrent.

"Right." Ray tossed aside the magazine, stood up, and stretched his limbs. "Well, Schwoz and I—"

A dry cough echoed throughout the room. Schwoz was tinkering with the monitors.

"Schwoz," Ray corrected, shooting the foreign man a haughty look, "did some tests on the note, and found out who sent it. Here, take a look at it and see if you can guess."

He extended the note to the pair standing by the elevator. Henry and Charlotte both made to grab it and their hands brushed accidentally. This resulted in both of them hastily withdrawing their hands, Henry muttering an apology, and Charlotte blushingly taking the note. Henry read the note over her shoulder. Charlotte could feel heat radiating from his body. Suddenly, the room felt hotter than before.

Ray, meanwhile, had gone back to idly reading his magazine, having noticed nothing. Schwoz was watching them earnestly, his eyes shifting between Henry and Charlotte.

"Look closely," he told them.

Henry leaned even closer to her to peer at the note, and Charlotte couldn't take it anymore. She dropped the note, her body uncomfortably hot.

"Why'd you do that?" Henry got down on his hands and knees at her feet to retrieve the note, as Charlotte's cheeks grew warm for the second time that day. What was wrong with her? She'd never felt like this before.

Henry had found the note, and was studying it intently with his caramel eyes. "Who was it?"

"It's this guy named Ringo. He's a part time clown, and an undercover criminal. He's disguised himself as a clown to avoid capture, but he can't hide from us now."

"Uh, he can, actually. We don't know where he is," Charlotte pointed out expertly, "He could be lurking anywhere."

"With my sister," Henry added, his face betraying nothing, but it didn't take a genius to figure out what Henry was feeling on the inside. Hatred, for the man who had unrightfully taken Piper hostage.

"That's the thing. We don't know where he is," Ray said, his face downcast. Henry also seemed to deflate on the outside, but it was nothing in comparison to the emotional tumult inside him.

His emotions were so raw that Charlotte could feel them emanating off of him, so strong that she felt bad for him. She couldn't imagine the pain and suffering he and his parents were going through.

"Ray, it's Piper we're talking about here." His voice trembled, his lower lip wobbling slightly, "She's my sister. I can't just... _lose_ her." His voice cracked.

That touched the hearts of everyone in the room. Charlotte hugged him, ignoring the recurrence of the butterflies and the repetition of the burning, tingly sensation that went up her spine.

Ray, however, was having difficulty trying to sum the gall to hug his sidekick. He hated this situation as much as Henry did, and honestly, he longed to murder the person causing Henry this much torture.

But it was true that they couldn't go right away. They had no clue where this clown lunatic was, and they wouldn't know until they figured it out.

Schwoz hurried into the room at that moment. "Turn on Channel 7 news!" he said urgently.

Ray dashed to the monitors, pressed a button, and the familiar logo zipped across the screen. The newscasters were anxiously shuffling through their reports, before finding the correct one and staring unblinkingly at the camera.

"Breaking news. The man who has captured a young girl from Swellview has been spotted. According to the informant, whose name is undisclosed, the man was wearing a clown costume and was entertaining young children at a birthday party. Here's Penny with more information."

The screen slid to fair-haired woman, with big blue eyes and chubby stature. Henry looked up, intrigued.

"Thanks, Trent," she replied promptly, an air of importance around her, "The man has been identified as Ringo, a popular clown in Swellview. He was amusing children with his juggling skills. He then proceeded to make an attempt to grab one of the little kids and run away. He was unsuccessful, however, and had to make a run for it. The police are tracking him, and have added him to their hit list."

Ray snorted. "As if. They're probably lounging around, eating donuts and whatever else they have down there." He turned off the screen and plopped down in the command chair, disconsolate.

"Ray, do you know what this means? We can find him now." Henry paced the Man Cave, his eyes alight.

Ray sighed, not wanting to break the news to the kid. "Kid, we still won't be able to, unfortunately. He could be anywhere."

Henry ran his hands through his hair, refusing to believe it. There just _had_ to be a way.

"Doesn't Schwoz have a device that can track someone's location by their footprints? Or can he build one?" he queried desperately.

"Listen Kid, we can't do anything right now. The least we can do is wait around for a new sighting." Oh man, Ray loathed discouraging his sidekick, but there was no point in chasing after a man that couldn't be found.

Henry was stubbornly unrelenting. "We don't just ' _wait around;'_ we're Captain Man and Kid Danger! They don't _just wait around._ They take action. That's why we're Swellview's superheroes," he argued.

Charlotte hadn't spoken at all during this debate, but she had to concede that he had a fair point

"That's true, but we can't just go running after a man blindly. Look, I admire your strong will, and I'm inclined to agree with it, it's just that we need to be logical." Ray was finding it harder to disagree with Henry. But he couldn't just get his head past the odds.

Henry slumped to the ground, finally defeated. Ray, unwilling to say anything more, left the room. Schwoz hastily made an excuse and disappeared into the back room.

Charlotte and Henry were now the only ones remaining in the Man Cave. Charlotte was in the midst of an internal conflict, torn between saying Ray was right and comforting Henry. She settled for kneeling next to him, brushing his golden hair aside and meeting his eyes.

He looked so forlorn that Charlotte felt pained. She spoke quietly to him, attempting to ease the ache just a little. "Henry, it's okay, we'll locate him eventually."

"'Eventually?' I want to locate him _now_. The little shit who kidnapped my sister," he spat bitterly, his eyes burning with loathing.

Charlotte was willing to agree with him, but she was playing the role of best friend at the moment. Although...she wouldn't mind being in a different role. You know, girl-

No. No. She would not allow herself to finish that thought. That was completely absurd. Right now, she wanted to be and remain his best friend. And right now, he needed her help, and she wasn't going to think such preposterous thoughts. She was going to console him.

"Henry, he's bound to show up at some point, right? He can't hide forever," Charlotte explained reasonably.

* * *

"No. Don't you dare," Ray, in his Captain Man attire, hissed. He and Kid Danger were cornering a villain who went by the name 'Arthritis.'

Kid Danger, however, wasn't into crime-fighting today. His lack of fire and enthusiasm puzzled many of the citizens in the general area. The absence of this was unsettling; it was almost as if he didn't want to fight crime anymore.

Arthritis was holding a Stun-Gun, and was aiming it at Captain Man, unknowing to the fact that he was indestructible and was making the biggest mistake of his life.

A taunting smirk crossed Captain Man's lips as he came to that conclusion. He moved closer, and a beam shot out of the gun, hit Captain Man, and rebounded. A second later, Arthritis lay on the ground, unconscious.

"Thank you, thank you, citizens. No need to thank me," the handsome superhero said, bowing theatrically as the crowd applauded jubilantly. Captain Man was yet again, a hero.

No one noticed as Kid Danger slipped away unseen from the scene. His heart was beating erratically. He'd just received an imperative text from his mother, telling him that he was needed at home immediately.

He made sure to change back into his normal self before entering the house.

The first thing he saw was that his mother was crying, and his father was rubbing her soothingly on the back. Henry automatically assumed the worst, judging from his mother's tear-stained face.

"Any updates?" Henry asked worriedly, sitting on the couch beside his dad.

Mrs. Hart lifted her wet face and said hysterically, "She's gone, Henry."

"Who's gone?" Henry asked persistently, his edginess growing.

His father's face said it all. Gravely, he broke the news to Henry. "It's Charlotte."

 **Seriously, enough with the cliffhangers already!** _ **-All of my Stages of Love fans**_

 **Yeah, totally, I agree. I wish the cliffhangers would stop too. But that's the great part about keeping readers in suspense. It keeps them on the edge of their seats.**

 **Okay, sorry about the delay. I'll try to keep updating weekly. It's hard when you have multiple multi-chapter stories that are incomplete. I feel like this chapter was subpar, or below my standards. But the reviews help me improve.**

 **Wishing you happy writing & reading,**

 **~AJ**


	3. Heartache and Weariness

**Just a quick note: There's one cuss word in here. Don't assume that I like to cuss or anything, it's just Ray's character. Just thought I'd warn you.**

* * *

 _"Promise me you'll always remember: You're braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think." -A.A. Milne_

* * *

Chapter 3

 _Word count: 2,745_

"You know," said Ray one evening, "I really want to send a note back to the sadistic comedian, saying 'Screw you, you little asshole.'"

Henry's response was a grunt of assent. The poor boy was looking downcast, like a kicked puppy.

Ray felt bad for the kid. It wasn't everyday that your sister and best friend were kidnapped by a psychopath.

Ray had dealt with many dreadful crimes that he never spoke of, but he had to admit that this was definitely in the top five. For that reason, he felt empathetic towards his sidekick.

"You know, I would've done it, had it not threatened my reputation," Ray continued.

Silence.

"Kid?" Ray waved a hand in front of his face, to no avail, "Earth to Henry!"

Henry snapped out of his trance. "Sorry, " he apologized, but not at all feeling sorry.

Ray peered closely at his desolate sidekick. "Kid?" he asked uncertainly, "Are you all right?"

"Of course, everything's just dandy," Henry snapped sarcastically, "My best friend and sister are just sitting around nicely at home, safe and sound. "

Ray's frown deepened. "I know you're upset, but there's no need-"

He broke off. The emergency alarm rang sharply through the Man Cave, alerting the two heroes about an impending crisis.

Schwoz was now manning the monitors in light of Charlotte's absence. He tapped a button and permitted the incoming voice message to come through.

"Hello? Hello?" A man's desperate voice echoed through the Man Cave.

Ray stated the standard phrase."You've reached the emergency hotline of Captain Man and Kid Danger. State your current situation and your location, and we will come."

"It's a wild bear! I was hiking along the trails of Mount Swellview, and the blasted beast comes lumbering out of the woods, and now it's chasing me! Help me, please! I can't run much longer!"

"We'll be right there," Ray replied, and Schwoz shut off the monitor.

A grim silence settled over the Man Cave as Ray rummaged around his pockets for his gumball tube. Henry merely continued to look morose.

"Where are they? I swear I put them- ah, found it." Ray extracted his tube from his pants, popped one into his mouth, and began to chew.

"Come on, Kid," Ray cajoled Henry, "What're you waiting for?"

"I'm not going," he said shortly.

It was a simple statement, but it was like a bolt of lightning had struck him. He paused, aghast.

 _"What?!"_ exclaimed Ray incredulously.

"I'm not going," Henry repeated monotonously.

Ray sputtered, completely lost for words.

Schwoz piped up. "Why?"

Henry looked down, guilt and defeat flooding over him. "Because I can't."

"You mean you _won't,_ " Schwoz contradicted sympathetically.

"I _can't._ You know as well as anyone."

Ray recovered his voice. "Henry," he said knowingly, "Stop beating yourself up over this, okay? Charlotte would've wanted you to be motivated, not be moping around like this."

Henry laughed cynically. "Charlotte wouldn't say that; it's purely your own words."

Schwoz interjected, sensing tension brewing, "Ray, why don't you go save the man, and Henry and I will stay here," he said.

Ray shot him a look, but Schwoz refused to back down. "Go on," he persisted.

Ray grumbled under his breath, but headed out.

* * *

 _"If you want to see the sunshine, you have to weather the storm." -Frank Lane_

* * *

"Shut UP!" Ringo bellowed, and the two girls were silenced at once.

Charlotte was shielding the other girl protectively with her body. It was her duty as the oldest girl there to defend the defenseless girl, who was much weaker and much more terrified.

"But, if you'll just let us go—" Charlotte tried to petition with the former clown, but it was useless. Ringo quieted her by pushing a rough finger to her lips. Charlotte recoiled.

"I have no intention of letting you leave," he said softly, his foul breath washing over her face, and Charlotte struggled to breathe, "I do, however, have every intention of making you give information that I know you have."

"What information?" Charlotte asked, a hint of fear creeping into her voice, "I'm very educated in terms of academics, if that's what you're looking for."

Ringo emitted a mirthless, chilling laugh. "Oh, dear Charlotte, if that was what I wanted, you wouldn't be here. I need you to supply me with useful information, information that would aid me in my efforts to destroy Captain Man and Kid Danger."

Chills rippled down her spine, and she was sure Piper was shuddering behind her.

"I can't provide you with knowledge I don't have," Charlotte countered flatly, "You will have to find another minion to play your mind games with. Let us go."

A dark look shadowed his face momentarily, then disappeared. "You're lying," he repeated, with false cheerfulness, "Tell me why Captain Man is unable to be harmed, and I will release you. No more negotiating."

Charlotte's mind was waging a ferocious battle. One side of her brain was urging her to refuse the offer, and state once and for all that she wasn't going to give in. On the other hand, she was almost willing to succumb to his demands and just pour out the information, if it meant that she and Piper could escape.

A thought crossed her mind.

"I'm just an innocent civilian who appreciates Captain Man and Kid Danger as much as any normal citizen. How would I have any connection with either with them?" she inquired.

"You are a stubborn girl, Charlotte," Ringo admitted, "An intelligent girl too, might I add. It may shock you that I know much more than you think."

"Enlighten me," she challenged, guarding her uneasiness carefully.

"Ah, but I can't tell you in front of _her,_ now can I?" Ringo picked his nails leisurely, "You don't want her to know. The only way would be to put her back in the cell, and then you can tell me. Then I will liberate you."

He had to add some spice to deal, didn't he?

"You just said that you had no intention of letting us go," Charlotte pointed out, "How are we supposed to believe that you will keep your end of the deal? For all we know, you could be just tricking us."

"Let me assure you," Ringo said through gritted teeth, "I am a man of my word. Now hand over the information."

"What'll happen if I don't?" she asked defiantly.

Ringo bared his teeth. "Then you'll have to watch as I torture this young girl until she'll be begging you to make it stop." He stared menacingly at Piper, who shrunk back, and Charlotte stood.

"If you want to touch her, you'll have to go through me," she said warningly.

Ringo studied her with cold gray eyes. "Fine. You'll have to face the repercussions by yourself. Just tell me about Captain Man, and I'll free your comrade. Just say the words."

Piper whimpered.

"Uh..." Charlotte stalled, her mind torn, contemplating the ultimatum, and fought the urge to punch him. "Fine," she said, knowing she was going to regret the decision later, "Take her downstairs."

She indicated the cowering girl behind her. Two hefty guards, who'd been lurking unnoticed in the shadows, stepped towards them. Charlotte moved aside, and they grabbed Piper roughly by the wrists and pulled her away.

"Charlotte, no!" Piper yelled, speaking up for the first time, as she was dragged away, "You can't let him get away with this!"

Charlotte's eyes watered, and she could sense tears welling up in the younger girl's eyes.

Piper's screams faded away as she was swallowed by the looming darkness. Charlotte locked eyes with Ringo, hating him with all of her passion.

"Now," Ringo rubbed his hands together gleefully, "Spill."

* * *

 _Dear Journal,_

Henry paused, pen tip inches above the crisp paper. He'd never written in a journal before, so he wasn't sure where to start.

 _This has been a crazy week._

That was the inaccurate understatement of the century.

 _Wait, who am I kidding? This has been the worst week of my entire life._

Ah, that was better.

 _In a matter of just a week, my sister, Piper, and Charlotte, one of my best friends, was captured by a ruthless clown. Who knew that clowns were natural-born kidnappers? This one sure is._

That was a good start. Henry bit his lip, scrutinizing the lined paper with eyebrows furrowed, and scribbled his next sentence.

 _My family is a mess.  
_

Yet another understatement.

 _I swear, if I get my hands on that clown, superhero or no superhero, I'm going to tear him apart limb by limb. He has no right to kidnap blameless kids. But if I go after him, he'll win. He wants to get a rise out of me and Ray, which explains the note._

 _But I have a dilemma. I can't just leave Charlotte and Piper in the hands of that maniac. Who knows what he's doing to them? He could be abusing them or- I don't want to imagine the possibilities. All I know is, we have to find him and bring him to justice. It's only a matter of where._

 _I can't lose them, though. They're my family, and I can't bear the thought of something happening to them. I know Charlotte is technically not my family, but she means as much to me as my family does. If I lost her, I don't know what I'd do. I love her. As a friend, of course._

 _That brings me to another predicament. Before she was-kidnapped-she was acting rather unusual. She wasn't like her normal self; on the contrary, she seemed flustered. I wonder what was bothering her. But I never got the chance to ask._

 _That's all I have going on in my life right now._

Henry closed the journal and set it aside. He stretched out on his bed, unsettling the blankets and tipping them on the floor.

Mentally, he reviewed his journal entry. He'd captured the problem precisely, with few grammatical errors. He did admit that his writing was bland and lacked enthusiasm, and he needed to add more of his input rather than just write a general summary of the day's events.

But writing had never been his forte, and Henry had done his best. His body and his brain were overworked and stressed. His appearance was mediocre, something his mother would've told him off for, but like Henry, she was moody and depressed, and unconcerned about her clothing choices. Her mood was reflected upon the rest of the family.

Henry's dad was trying to keep it together for the rest of the family, but he was more despairing as his wife and eldest son.

"Jake, we can't!" Henry overheard his mother saying one day, "She's out there somewhere!"

"I know," Henry's father said despondently, "but it's been over a week since she's disappeared! How do we know where she is? And why isn't Captain Man doing anything?"

 _Believe me,_ Henry willed _, He is. You mustn't admit defeat yet._

* * *

The emergency alarm beeped ear-piercingly, and Ray, who was scanning yet more photos of Ringo, hit the button.

A woman's panicked face was shown to them. Her eyes were wide with fright.

"Captain Man? Kid Danger? Are you there?" the woman asked frantically.

"Yes, state your emergency and your location," Ray instructed.

"My Laurie—my baby girl, that is—she's been abducted by an awful man!" She began to sob hysterically, and Ray said, "Ma'am, I need you to remain calm and speak clearly, otherwise I won't be able to assist you."

"I'm sorry," she wept, "My daughter and I were going out for a stroll in Swellview Park. Then, the creepy man ran up to me, snatched my baby, and took off!"

She let out another pitiful wail. Henry's attention was directed to monitors, suddenly aware that this might've possibly been Ringo.

Ray glanced fleetingly at the blonde, a meaningful look on his face. Henry nodded.

Ray returned his eyes to the screen. "What did the man look like, and where was he headed?"

"He had a mask over his face, but he was tall and skinny. I think he was fleeing to the warehouse, because when I followed him, he took a left at the sign posts."

That sounded an awful lot like one of Ringo's henchmen. They could now officially conclude that it was definitely Ringo behind the captures of all three girls. And even better, they now knew his location, so they could track down the two girls taken hostage.

They could only pray that he wasn't mistreating them.

* * *

"...And that's why Captain Man is unable to get hurt whatsoever," Charlotte finished, head down with the guilt of what she had just confessed weighing her down.

"Interesting..." Ringo's steely eyes burned holes into her temple as he pondered what she had divulged to him, "So, if I get ahold of these jolly beetles, I will be able to extract fluid and spray it on Captain Man. The fluid will take away his indestructibility, therefore rendering him _powerless!_ "

"That's it in a nutshell," Charlotte affirmed gloomily.

"Very well," he concluded, "Take her away."

 _"No!"_ Charlotte screamed, twisting and squirming violently against her captors, " _LET GO OF ME!"_

A sinister smirk played around the corner of his lips. "No," he said.

Charlotte continued to fight, doing whatever she could: jabbing elbows, stomping feet, but it was no use. The men were stronger than she was, and they pulled her away anyway.

They unceremoniously dumped her on the hard stone floor. She shakily got to her feet and rattled the bars of the cell door, but once again, her efforts were futile. She was imprisoned inside a jail.

A small hand landed on her shoulder. She looked up to see Piper. The young girl's eyes were red from crying, and tear tracks shone on her gaunt cheeks. She was in an even worse condition than Charlotte, having been here for more than a week and experienced horrible things.

It had been two days since Charlotte was unfortunately taken hostage by the evil clown, and man, was she enraged.

"Charlotte? Are you okay?" Piper asked concernedly.

"Of course, of course I'm fine," she said dismissively, a little red, "Just a little bruised."

She flopped down on the ground, wondering when Ray and Henry—excuse her, _Captain Man_ and _Kid Danger_ were going to come to rescue them.

Piper seemed to thinking along the same lines as Charlotte. "Do you think Captain Man and Kid Danger will come and save us?"

"I certainly hope so. It's their duty, after all," Charlotte responded, hoping this was true, "Just as long as they haven't given up."

The idea was unacceptable, yet Charlotte had learned that it was best to face the stark truth. There was a possibility they _wouldn't_ be saved, even though she didn't want to believe it. There was only so much the two heroes could do that was within their own powers.

"Char," Piper said hesitantly, interrupting her thoughts, "About what—what Ringo said about Captain Man—is any of it true? Do you know Captain Man and Kid Danger?"

Charlotte wavered slightly. She was wading in dangerous waters, and she had to tread carefully. Piper could not know about her relationship with Swellview's famous heroes, nor could she find out that her own brother was Kid Danger.

"Not really," she fibbed convincingly, "We're just acquaintances who happened to bump into each other one time. Other than that, we hardly see each other. I mean, they're superheroes; they're always running around saving people all the time. How am I supposed to be in contact with them?" She chuckled weakly.

"Oh. Just wondering." Piper casually took a seat on the stony, uncomfortable floor.

Charlotte let out a sigh of relief. Her secret—and Henry's—was still safe.

Speaking of Henry, her heart was aching for him. Ray and Jasper, too, but it was still suffering especially for Henry. She didn't know why, but she hated the feeling. Knowing Henry, he was probably beating himself up. He was extremely loyal to his friends, which could be risky, because it could lead to his downfall.

Charlotte could only hope that he wasn't too agonized about her capture, because it could blind him and lead to disastrous results. Misery was never a good thing.

* * *

 **Oh hey peeps! Sorry for the looong wait. It's been almost a month since I've updated.**

 _ ***Checks update date***_

 **Yep, it's nearly a month. Three more days of procrastinating and it would've been a month. But thanks for following/reviewing/favoriting the story! Seeing those emails in my inbox really brightens my day.**

 **If you read my profile recently, you'll notice it has a new message on it, along with an explanation on why I've been MIA for a while. If you didn't see it, or just are too lazy (like me, lol) then I'll give you the gist of it.**

 **One word: Finals.**

 **If you know what I mean.**

 **I'll be in highschool next year, so these exams will mean make or break for me (and my classmates). Honestly, it's a pain in the butt trying to study and somehow manage to update. I spent a lot of time writing this up, so y'all better appreciate it (don't take it the wrong way), even though it's lacking in a lot of things.**

 **I really love writing, don't get me wrong, but keeping up with this is getting tough. But I'll do my best.**

 **To quote Henry's journal: "This has been a crazy week."**

 **AJ out.**

 **PS: Has anyone seen _Green Fingers?_ If so, tell me your opinion. I thought it was a pretty good episode.**


	4. Wandering Minds and Tortured Times

_Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage. — Lao Tzu_

* * *

 _Chapter 4: Wandering Minds and Tortured Times_

Henry's watch went off in the middle of Mr. Johnson's English class.

He really needed to berate Ray on beeping him during class. What was so urgent the Ray couldn't take care of it himself?

Mr. Johnson's thick neck swiveled straight to Henry and zeroed in on him. Henry swallowed. This had better be worth it, because Mr. Johnson wasn't known to be soft in terms of punishment.

"Is that a smartphone, boy?!" he bellowed, his mustache quivering.

"No, sir, it's just my watch."

"Watch?!" Henry held up his wrist for confirmation.

"Fine, but don't let me hear it again," the teacher warned, glaring at him.

"Yes, sir." Henry averted his eyes as his teacher stretched, revealing his paunchy stomach.

He lowered his eyes to the grammar worksheet. Eleventh grade English was a breeze, with Charlotte tutoring him. Now, his grades were slipping because his mind was preoccupied with thoughts of her.

He distractedly marked a misplaced semicolon, his eyes wandering to the empty desk beside him. Charlotte usually sat there, diligently doing her work, and he could just lean over and sneak a look at her paper. And occasionally, he would catch a whiff of her heavenly coconut shampoo...

On his other side, Jasper was muttering under his breath as he furiously erased his paper. His vigorous erasing slit an enormous hole in the paper, and he had to request a new one with a trembling voice.

"Mr. Dunlop!" Mr. Johnson barked, and Jasper shrunk back, "Are you so inadequate that you can't even keep a paper intact?"

Jasper flattened himself against the chair. "No, sir."

Henry took pity on his friend. Under Mr. Johnson's heavy glare, he interjected, "Don't talk to him like that! That's the equivalent of verbal abuse!"

A few students gasped at Henry's boldness, but quite frankly, he didn't care. This man couldn't hurt him, unless he wanted to be fired. And he was enjoying goading his teacher, since he never received the opportunity to.

Mr. Johnson swelled with anger. "You dare have the audacity to speak to me like that? Well, I have news for you, boy! Detention with me, after school!"

Henry had had enough. Nobody spoke to him like that and got away with that.

So, he stood, made eye contact with his teacher, and said in a monotonous, careless voice, "I don't care. Detention is nothing compared to what I'm going through."

And he did something he had never had the guts to do: he slung his schoolbag over his shoulder and walked out of class without permission. He could hear Mr. Johnson's incomprehensible spluttering behind him as he slammed the door with gusto.

Henry strode without stopping to the boys' restroom. He leaned against the wall, his breathing erratic. Then, the truth of what had just occurred hit him like a tidal wave.

Henry's watch beeped again, jarring him out of his thoughts. He flipped his watch open and a hologram of Ray fizzled into solidity in front of him.

"About time!" Ray was still clad in his sweatshirt and ratty jeans, his hands drumming his thighs impatiently. "What took you so long?"

Henry offered him a short explanation of what had happened. Ray's eyebrows rose to his hairline.

"Someone's gotta do something about the maniac teacher of yours," he said indignantly, "No teacher has the right to degrade a student so abrasively! I'll have a talk with him when I come to bail you out. Good work, Kid."

Henry let the compliment slide by. "It is partially your fault. You beeped me in the middle of class and triggered his wrath."

Ray shuffled his feet. "Oh. Forgot that you were in class."

Henry rolled his eyes. Ray was incorrigible.

"Never mind, now why did you beep me at such an inconvenient time?"

"Excellent question. I just acquired an anonymous tip-off that there is going to be a burglary at the jewelry store a little ways from your school. It is going to transpire around four-thirty."

About the time his detention commenced. Perfect. He wouldn't have to serve it after all, just reschedule for another time.

"Great, see you then." He snapped the top closed and resumed his brooding.

Henry waited until the bell rang and students flooded into the hallways, groaning about their tremendous homework load. Henry allowed himself to be swept toward the cluster of lockers, where he was confident Jasper would be.

Sure enough, Jasper was exchanging his English books for his Pre-Calculus ones. He didn't hear Henry's stealthy approach, and he jumped when he tapped him on the shoulder.

The curly-haired boy swung around, his boyish face startled. When he recognized the person, he smiled in gratitude.

"Thanks for supporting me back there," Jasper said, patting him meaningfully, "You should've seen Mr. Johnson after you stormed out. He ignored us for the rest of the period, which provided some peace. I think he was typing a letter of complaint to the principal. You'd better watch out."

Henry shrugged airily. "It's okay. I have twenty eyewitnesses on my side, and it's his word against ours."

"Well, he's been teaching for a while, so he's probably established relationships with most of the teachers. Just don't make him cross again."

"But it was so much fun goading him!" Henry objected, "Because he's misusing his authority over students, he's had it coming for a long time."

A wavering smile crossed his best friend's face before falling into a serious expression. "Why did Ray beep you in the middle of class? I thought you advised him not to."

"He obtained an unidentified source that informed him that there was going to be a robbery at the jewelry store not far from here." Henry purposefully lessened the volume of his voice, considering that they were in a crowded, public place and anyone could inadvertently overhear their conversation.

Henry's eyes darted warily around the hallway. He hated the secrecy, the whispering, and he just wanted to declare to the world that he, Henry Hart, was the teenage superhero sidekick protecting their town.

Imagine if Mr. Johnson discovered that one of his least favorite pupils was Kid Danger. Not so menacing, huh?

"What'cha up to, Henry?" a sickeningly sweet crooned.

Henry and Jasper allowed identical looks of disgust to form on their faces before Henry steeled himself and turned around.

Whitney Eastwood. The daughter of the richest person in Swellview. With blonde locks, curvaceous body, and pouty lips, she was the most sought after girl in Swellview High. However, the boys were dishearteningly deterred by Whitney's infatuation with Henry, whom she proclaimed the most attractive boy in the school compared to all of "nerds and swots." She made it blatantly clear that she was eager to marry him someday, and anyone who stood in her way would be cast aside.

Henry despised her, because she was like a dog, tailing him wherever he went. He abhorred her so-called affections, and made it abundantly clear that he was not interested in her in any way. She was so relentlessly persistent, unyielding to his rejections.

And she had chosen the wrong time to badger him. He'd already dealt with one demon; he didn't need another shadowing his every step.

"So, Henry," she said enticingly, twirling a strand of golden hair, and he almost gagged, "There's something I wanted to ask-"

"Excuse me," he interrupted, "I need to retrieve something from my locker, if you don't mind."

"Sure." She fluttered her eyelashes.

With his back blocking her view, Henry mimed slicing his throat open and Jasper sniggered. He quickly grabbed the first thing in his locker he saw, which turned out to be a mirror. How vain.

Whitney was prattling on about her father's lavish new car, and Henry struggled to maintain a stoic face.

"-and he wouldn't let me sit in the shotgun seat!" Whitney concluded dramatically, waving her hands for emphasis.

"What a calamity," Henry deadpanned. Behind him, he heard Jasper muffle his snickers.

"I know, right? What should I do?" she asked him, like he was a great god that could give her all of her answers.

"Insist," he suggested with a underlying layer of irony, "You're really superb at it."

"Of course! You're a genius!" she gushed, wrapping her spindly fingers around his forearm. He winced. Her nails were like sharp talons digging painfully into his skin. She flounced away, her skirt billowing around her and exposing immaculate legs. Several hormonal boys gawked unabashedly at her.

"I don't know why you turned her down," one boy said, "She's everything I dream of."

"Go chase your dreams, then," Henry snapped moodily, forcefully closing his locker. Man, did he want Charlotte back.

* * *

"No!" the bearded man screamed. "I won't let you, you creep!"

There was their cue. Ray and Henry, disguised as their other selves, crashed in, wielding formidable Stun Guns.

Ray opened his mouth to introduce himself in impressive fashion, but as usual, someone beat him to it.

"It's Captain Man and Kid Danger!" a woman shouted, relief rolling off in waves, "They've come to rescue us!"

No kidding. It was in their job description, after all.

"Put your hands behind your back!" Ray commanded sternly. Henry said nothing, instead circling around the crook for a better angle. The villain sneered.

"No." The unnamed criminal held a fistful of gleaming, valuable jewelry in one hand, and the other was firmly gripping the jeweler by the neck.

"Your loss." Ray pulled the trigger, and just like that, the heist was history.

Just kidding. Nothing was ever that simple.

Ray pushed down on the trigger and a blue light streaked towards the villain. However, his aim was faulty, and it gave the villain a wide berth and narrowly missed Henry.

It was like playing Monkey in the Middle. But the ball was equal to a blue laser. And the point was to dodge the "ball" not be hit by it.

Blue lights slashed through the air as Ray and Henry wove around the counters and the civilians, trying to unbalance the villain without demolishing the fragile glass cases containing priceless jewels.

A stray bullet ricocheted off the walls, causing panic, and Ray yelled, "Duck!"

"AHHHH!" the woman screamed, "We're gonna die!"

"Not if I can help it," Ray muttered grimly, squatting to avoid the blue bullet.

Finally, it was Henry who was victorious. Crouching behind a shelf, he stowed away the Stun Gun and tackled the criminal. Ray let the bullets fly. The criminal was disarmed and knocked unconscious.

There was rousing, jubilant applause as Captain Man bobbed his head loftily, but Henry was deaf and blind to all praise. In his peripheral vision, he saw a flashing vermilion light. It was most likely a bomb or some kind of volatile explosive. Whatever it was, it posed as a threat to their lives.

It happened in slow motion. Henry lunged, grasping the necklace with his hand. He inspected the bejeweled necklace, at last discerning ominous red numbers in the translucent diamond, counting down the time they had to evacuate the area. The numbers were glowing, signifying the urgency. According to the timer, they had just under four minutes.

"Captain Man!" he called, gaining the room's undivided attention with the alarm in his voice, "Look at this."

"What? What's wrong?" Ray asked loudly. All eyes darted between the superhero and the unnerved sidekick.

"Shh," Henry hissed; there were inquisitive eyes watching them, "Take a close look at this. I think it's a time bomb."

Ray was able to distinguish the bright scarlet numbers and swore. "We need to vacate the premises immediately. How much time do we have?"

Henry rubbed the diamond. "Three minutes."

Ray utilized his most commanding voice. "Everyone, we need to desert this area immediately. I have reason to believe that there is a dangerous explosive in this very room, which is nothing to be concerned about unless we are in the target zone, which is why I urge you to leave with utmost calm."

No one dared to undermine his authority. They filed out somberly, Henry leading them and setting a brisk pace. Ray was bringing up the rear, ensuring that there were no stragglers.

One woman sidled up to Ray, her startling green eyes anxious. "How far?"

"As far as possible," Ray replied tersely. He ushered the group along, glancing back at the jewelry store.

He paused. The store clerk who'd been manning the counter was crouched outside the store, gazing at it with an unwilling expression. Ray doubled back, his eyes narrowed.

"Come on, move it! Do you want to die?"

"This is my family's store," the clerk whispered, "It has been passed down for decades, generation to generation. I cannot just _abandon_ it."

Ray's eyes loitered on the dilapidated building, judging its rickety support beams.

"No," he said rigidly, "Don't dawdle around here. Our time is limited, and as a matter of fact-"

The ground trembled. Knowing that they only had seconds, Henry, who was still at the head of their brigade, broke into a full-fledged sprint.

There was a thunderous noise, and debris rained down around as the bomb detonated and unleashed its full power.

Ray shouted over the deafening din, "Shield your heads!"

Henry covered his head and blindly plunged through the shards of glass and rocks cascading around him.

He could feel fragments of glass piercing his skin through the thin fabric of his suit, which meant to protect their exterior layer of skin, but was susceptible to sharp glass pieces puncturing it.

Henry raised his eyes a millimeter and was stung instantaneously by the dirt flying everywhere. Tears forming in his eyes, he ducked under the safety of his arms.

An ear-splitting scream resounded through the splintering glass, and Henry froze. Someone was in peril. He carefully maneuvered to the source of the scream.

A woman's legs were pinned by an enormous rock, which took all of Henry's strength to shift. With a heavy grunt, he freed her legs, and they exchanged brief smiles.

However, he failed to notice a chunk of rock falling from the sky, clobbering him on the head painfully and sent his vision tunneling.

The _thunk_ was heard by no one. Everyone's eyes, nose, and ears were blocked, trying to keep out the dust from filtering in.

The impact jolted Henry, eyes glossing over. The avalanche continued to rock the world, unstabilizing his incapacitated legs.

When the dust and smoke cleared, sounds of spluttering and choking could be heard. The store's fate, however, was undeniably clear. It was demolished, never to be rebuilt. All that remained of it was rubble.

"Is everybody okay?" Ray called.

There were groans of assent from the group, minus Henry. His vision was blurred and impaired, his legs jelly, and his head throbbing.

"My store!" the man sobbed, bolting to the ruins of what had been a ramshackle jewelry store. Ray felt absolutely no pity whatsoever. It had been bound to collapse anyway.

Someone yelled his sidekick's alias, which tore his gaze away and fixated it on the blonde-haired, sooty boy.

For one moment, Henry swayed, his eyes glassy, and then his knees buckled and he crumpled.

 _"Kid!"_

Though Ray had endured worse, facing his greatest fear was the ultimate test. Losing the one person who meant everything to him would crush him. He would rather relinquish his indestructibility to the most evil villain in the world than let his sidekick die. Henry was a son to him.

The last thing Henry observed was Ray's panicked face hovering over his own, before he slipped into a serene world of darkness.

* * *

Charlotte cried out as a blinding pain stabbed her forehead, as if someone was thrusting a knife into it. For a split second, her vision was spiraling out of control. Her

She was jarred back to reality by Piper's unnaturally mollifying voice."What's wrong?" the younger girl asked, her gaunt cheeks lined with worry.

"Nothing." She regained her bearings. "Everything's fine."

Piper looked unconvinced, but dropped the subject.

Ever since Piper had been taken into captivity, she was famished. Her cheeks were hollowed and sunken, her body wearing thin and painstakingly succumbing to starvation.

Charlotte herself was suffering from malnourishment. She and Piper were forced to survive on barely sustainable scraps of food, and often times, Charlotte sacrificed her portion so Piper could eat more.

She longed for the times when she could just walk to the sandwich shop and order a hot, steaming sandwich. They were so frail, they would devour anything.

It was only a matter of time before their bodies gave up, unless Captain Man and Kid Danger staged a rescue.

Charlotte's mind strayed to Henry almost by default. She missed walking to school with him, having deep conversations with him, laughing at his corny jokes, and most of all, his empowering speeches. She'd suggested he could take up motivational speechwriting as a hobby, since his were so persuasive and heartfelt.

Reminiscing about him rekindled a new flame inside of her. He was her driving force, the reason she was weathering the discomfort and torment. The stroll down the memory lane had rejuvenated her.

Charlotte didn't mind being stuck in a cell with Piper, but if she could choose one person to be trapped in a cell with, it would be Henry. Henry would force her to persevere, and not to surrender her courage. If she was to go down, she would go down fighting for her beliefs.

She absently traced Henry's initials into the grime coating the floor. Henry was on her mind a lot nowadays. She supposed it was just because she was missing his company.

It wasn't until Piper spoke that she finally was aware that she was repeatedly writing Henry's initials.

"What're you writing?" she asked hoarsely.

 _Crap. Abort. Abort now._

"Umm..." Charlotte stalled, her mind whirling with feasible answers to dissuade the small girl, "Just...bored," she fabricated lamely.

As she uttered the last syllable, the cell door banged open. A brawny man slouched in.

"Ringo requests your presence," he muttered coarsely.

Sighing, Charlotte stood and extended a helpful hand the thinner girl. She started for the exit, but the man blocked her access.

"No." He pointed at Charlotte. "Just you."

Perplexed, Charlotte followed the man to a set of steps, which the man easily ascended, but Charlotte had some difficulty with, considering her undernourished condition.

Ringo was pacing the length of the grand room, his dark eyes liquified into inky pools, his fingers traveling to his hair and messing it up, giving him more of a madman look.

His hands leapt down from his hair as Charlotte entered, wheezing.

"Charlotte," he addressed her suavely, "You're back."

"Only because of you," she rebutted evenly.

"I see you have not ceased your irksome remarks," he chuckled, "But your cleverness won't save you now."

Charlotte felt an involuntary chill of foreboding trickle down her spine like ice, but she did not give him the satisfaction of getting a rise out of her. Her face remained emotionless.

Ringo was surprised at her reaction. He had expected tears, or pleading for mercy, but none came. In order to succeed, he had to find a vulnerable spot.

A heartbeat passed as the two enemies stared at each other, Ringo's stormy eyes calculating her. Charlotte resolved to not submit to his assertiveness.

"Are you frightened, girl?"

An almost inaudible " _no"_ escaped her lips, and Ringo roared in frustration, much to her amusement. The lack of responses seemed to be agitating him, and Charlotte dared to hope.

This girl was as tough as nails, the clown surmised. He needed to use other methods.

"Bring me my whip," he ordered, and the muscular man melted back into the shadows.

Charlotte was grappling between quivering with fear or braving the tempestuous storm ahead. She opted if the second, though the first was more appealing.

The same man who had escorted her up to this room reappeared with a long rope in his hands and presented it to his master. Ringo, as if he were handling a delicate child, lovingly took the whip into his own hands.

Charlotte was sickened by this man's actions. Torturing her to force her to disclose confidential information? That was so cliche. Whipping someone was a common practice between villains to threaten their captives.

"You're going to have to use more than that," she blurted out, and immediately clapped a hand over her mouth. Why couldn't she keep her lips sealed?

"Is that so?" Ringo wheeled around, his dark eyes boring into hers, "Fine."

He discarded the whip and advanced on her, his bony hands outstretched. She shrunk back.

"I'm willing to go any lengths to guarantee that I receive the responses that I want," he warned, "so you _will_ answer me, Charlotte Bolton."

"You won't get away with this." Her voice cracked at the end. "Captain Man and K-Kid Danger wil thwart whatever twisted plans you have."

A malicious smile curved his lips. "Oh no, they won't. You see, I've got them exactly where I want them. They'll be... _stagnant_ for a little while."

"No," she croaked, "They're resilient; they won't give up."

"Is that so?" From thin air, a remote materialized and he pressed a series of buttons. Charlotte vaguely registered that that was a code to lower a screen.

He tapped another button, and Charlotte pushed herself up. The screen displayed a devastating scene. The ground was littered with glimmering glass and bits of rocks for quite some distance. Ashes also were spread unevenly around the area, indicating that some explosion had occurred.

In the center of the wreckage, Ray was crouched over a motionless body, tears rolling down his cheeks.

Ray was crying. Something tragic had happened.

Charlotte craned her neck to identify the body. Her eyes roved over blonde hair, blank cocoa eyes... it _couldn't_ be. No. No. She was hallucinating. Anything but this. Someone needed to rattle her to shake her out of this-this-coma. Yes. Her body was too much in shock to fathom anything.

 _This is a nightmare._

"Your valiant heroes," Ringo confirmed, still grinning insufferably.

Her bravado vanished like smoke.

And Charlotte's world crashed around her.

* * *

 **That chapter was exceptionally long. The creative juices wouldn't stop flowing...**

 **I almost considered extending the chapter, since I had an idea in mind, but I decided that I didn't want to prolong the time it takes to read this. I'll save it for next chapter.**

 **I only received one review on the last chapter :( but my followers spiked, which is true for my other active stories. Please, I beg you to review or do whatever you can to show your support. I worked hard on this chapter. Sleepless nights, sacrificing study time, and pouring my heart into this story were the casualties. Plus, it would serve as a birthday gift (May 17).**


	5. the path to heaven runs through hell

**Besides writing this for my (dedicated) readers, I also wrote this for...**

 **Are You Crazy Enough to Do It Challenge?: 594. (word) Particular**

 **Also changed title format.**

* * *

 _ **the path to heaven runs through hell**_

 _Word Count: 4,461_

* * *

 _(inspiration for title) "The path to heaven runs through miles of clouded hell right to the top." -Imagine Dragons, It's Time_

* * *

 _...vVv..._

 _Henry was soaring through an endless sky. His arms and legs were spread-eagled like wings, gliding through the air effortlessly. The wind whooshed through his hair, giving it a windswept shape._

 _Puffy snow-colored clouds were within his reach. He unhesitatingly brushed his fingers against one, enjoying the split second of cool air on his fingers before the cloud morphed._

 _White slowly darkened, lightning fizzling and crackling with electricity. His hair stood on end, vibrating with the strong charge the lightning emitted. A claw-shaped bolt struck the sky, spreading the darkness to the remaining clouds. The wind increased in intensity, causing him to swerve and tumble through the air. His visibility was limited due to the fierce wind forcing his eyelids shut, rendering him unable to navigate through the blackened clouds._

 _In the center of the mayhem, a colossal hurricane was unleashed. Heavy sheets of rain whipped his face. A feminine scream rebounded through the clouds, until it reached his ears in a deafening burst of sound. His blood chilled as he recognized the familiar scream. He would recognize that scream anywhere; it was a sound that sent his heart into hysterics._

 _Chaos reigned around him, and it was petrifying. In just moments, the serenity had shattered and reconfigured into a grave darkness._

Henry's eyes snapped open and he sat up abruptly in bed, his breathing irregular. He inhaled deeply, trying to placate his heart, which was pounding rapidly against his sore ribs.

Coughs racked his body. A burning sensation encompassed his throat, and he fell against his bed, spasms rocking his body.

"Here." A steady, cool hand rested on his shoulder, while the other passed him a glass of clear water.

He gulped it down appreciatively, his body relaxing upon the water coming in contact with his flaming throat. He guzzled down the whole glass in a few ravenous mouthfuls, but he didn't set it down, clutching it in his hand. He needed something solid to grip on to shake away the horrific nightmare.

The comforting hand released his shoulder, and Henry received his first look at his surroundings.

He was in Swellview Hospital. How did he know? The area was spotless and almost too _white_. Of course, that was a stereotypical way of identifying a hospital, but it was a characteristic of all hospitals.

White drapes hung stiffly over his window, effectively allowing no natural sunlight to filter in. The lights were fluorescent and shining directly into his eyes, nearly blinding him. He shielded his eyes with his arm.

This wasn't Henry's first impromptu visit to the hospital, and it would certainly not be his last.

The identity of the man turned out to be Ray. The superhero was sitting in a solitary swivel chair next to Henry's bed, eyebrows knitted together with concern.

"What happened?" Henry let the question fall from his lips into his glass, a hazy recollection swirling in his mind.

An unreadable expression painted his face. "I need to clarify something first. What is my name and occupation?"

"Ray." Henry was appropriately puzzled. "You work at Junk-N-Stuff, but that's just an alibi. You're actually Captain Man, the resident superhero."

Ray's taut muscles loosened at the adequate description. "Good. The doctors wanted to ensure that you didn't induce amnesia. Your body took a nasty battering."

Henry grimaced, feeling the bandages wound around his head. His bandages were sticky and made his forehead itch. His head was throbbing.

"What was the damage?" Henry asked, wincing as his hand touched a tender spot.

"Concussion," Ray reported, "A moderate one, since you didn't become amnesiac. We would've been in serious trouble if you'd lost your memories. You also received some minor scrapes and scratches, but those should mend within a few days. We were extremely concerned about your head; the doctor told us there was a possibility that you may have lost all of your memories."

Henry shuddered. "I'm glad I didn't. That would've been a real catastrophe. When are these bandages being removed, by the way? I feel like they're compressing my head."

"Be prepared to feel like this for a few days," Ray advised, "The doctor—who is quite gorgeous, by the way—said you would be stuck with these bandages until Sunday, so you'd better get accustomed to them."

Henry groaned. Today was Thursday, if he'd calculated right.

Henry surveyed the room. It was oddly quiet, considering that no one else was in the room. A thought occurred to him.

"Where are my parents?" Henry queried, "They must be worried sick."

"They're here, and they already came and checked on you. I fed them a story about you accidentally stumbling and hitting your head on the register. If they ask you questions, just play along, okay?"

Henry hated lying to his parents, but he'd been doing that for quite some time now _(he's sixteen, and he started this job when he was thirteen)_ , and he had to keep a tally of the lies and excuses he and Ray were cooking up for Henry's parents.

"Of course," Henry promised.

Ray stood, stretched, and Henry watched as his muscles rippled beneath his sweatshirt. He wished he had muscles like that. Sure, they were developing, but he would certainly attract the attention of more girls _(there was one in particular, but he wasn't sure if she liked that in a guy)_ if he actually did build muscles. Spontaneously, Henry vowed that he would work out every day for the rest of his life.

"Kid? You still there?" Ray's voice brought him back to the present.

He nodded wordlessly. Ray's eyes narrowed in suspicion, but he refrained from asking.

"Do you mind if—" he faltered for a split second, and then continued, "—if I have a moment by myself? This is the only peace I'm going to receive for a long time, and I want to relish it."

Ray didn't hesitate, knowing that his sidekick's words were true. After all he'd been through, the boy deserved peace and quiet.

Once the door had closed behind Ray, Henry released a silent sigh of relief. Everything that had happened over the past few weeks were burdening his mind, and this injury was just a minor setback. It was something trivial, something readily overcome.

He looked down at himself. Who was he? Henry Hart, or Kid Danger? They were merging together so quickly. It was only a matter of time before—

The door was flung open. In the doorway stood Henry's family, minus one—but he didn't want to think about that. Not yet. He just wanted to be reunited with his parents.

"Henry!" his mother cried, "You're awake!"

For the first time in weeks, Henry allowed a genuine smile to grace his face. "Hello, Mom."

"We were so worried!" She strode swiftly to his side. "When Ray called and told us what happened, we were so frantic. We couldn't lose another child."

She hugged him fervently as Henry's happiness evaporated. A frown replaced the bright smile that had been there moments ago.

Henry's mother seemed to notice the rapid decline in his mood. She pulled back, a concerned expression on her face. "Oh, honey, I didn't mean to—"

"No, Mom, it's fine," Henry interrupted, plastering another smile on his face, "Let's not revisit that though."

"Of course not," she agreed, and for the first time, remembered Henry's father, who was watching them reconcile with a bittersweet grin on his face. He, too, had witnessed the sudden dip in Henry's enthusiasm. Regardless, he crossed the room and knelt by his wife.

"Finally remembered me, have you?" he joked and laughter overtook the room.

For that one sweet moment, Henry dared to hope They could pull through, they could remain strong. For Charlotte, Piper, and their own sakes.

A gentle cough reached the group's ears and the family separated. The doctor was standing in the doorway, waiting for the reunification to conclude.

"Henry, this is Dr. Meadows. She's the doctor in charge of your ward," Henry's mother said.

Dr. Meadows offered him a warm smile and Henry reciprocated the smile. Ray was right, she was quite good-looking, and Henry was beginning to like her already. She gave off a comforting, almost motherly aura. She reminded him a little of his former pediatrician, a woman with kind eyes and a welcoming smile every time he saw her.

Dr. Meadows redirected her beaming smile to Henry's parents. "If you don't mind, I would like a moment alone with him, please."

She was polite too, Henry observed.

Henry's parents nodded and retreated from the room, discussing what to have for lunch. Dr. Meadows shut the door and sat on a leather rolling chair which Ray had been sitting on earlier. She set her clipboard on her lap.

"I just need to perform a few tests, but they won't hurt at all." The doctor retrieved a stethoscope and lifted Henry's burgundy t-shirt in order to place it on his heart.

For the first time _(yes, this was a day full of firsts)_ , Henry noticed that he was no longer in his uniform suit. Someone had remembered to change him back. Ray, most likely. He'd have to thank him later.

She listened for a few moments and then moved the diaphragm to another spot. She repeated this a few times around various areas on his chest and then withdrew the ear pieces from her ears.

"Your pulse is steady," she informed him needlessly, because he already knew his heartbeat was regular just by putting his hand over his heart.

She then felt his forehead with her bare hand and Henry resisted the desire to shiver. Her hand was as cold as ice.

"Any fever, dear?" she asked.

"No."

"Any chills?"

"No."

"Any aches or pains?"

"My head's sore," he admitted.

"That's normal. You took a hard fall, after all."

She marked something on her clipboard, her face impassive.

"Everything seems to be in order," she said, handing a small bottle, "You'll need these painkillers. You may receive painful visions, but don't worry, these are meant to help you."

Henry eyed the medicine bottle doubtfully. "What kind of visions?"

"You'll see." She abruptly stood and collected her clipboard, stethoscope, and pen. Henry's eyes narrowed into slits.

"You're hiding something," he accused, "Enlighten me, what does this 'painkiller' really do?"

"I can't tell you." Dr. Meadows avoided his eyes and strode out the door.

Henry grumbled, massaging his temple. He would have to discover for himself what the doctor was not divulging to him.

A nurse poked her head into the room. "You have another visitor, Mr. Hart."

"Please, call me Henry," he ground out, tired from all of the interruptions.

"Of course," the nurse replied, motioning for the mystery visitor to enter.

Now Henry was curious. His awfully perceptive nose caught a whiff of— _coconut shampoo_?

 _Could it be—?_

"Hiya, Henry!" a sugary-sweet voice trilled and he caught a glimpse of blonde hair.

And Henry fainted.

...Vv

Charlotte struggled against the bonds tying her limbs together. After finding that her best friend was dead, or at least close to being, she was understandably not coping well. Piper, the poor thing, had succumbed to tears after Charlotte told her about her brother's condition. At last, she had resolved to complete silence—giving Charlotte nobody to confide in about her tangled emotions.

They were fatigued and malnourished. Ringo, furious about Charlotte's adamant refusal to provide information about Captain Man and Kid Danger, had decreased the amount of food they received from a loaf of bread to a meager two slices. Charlotte always relinquished her slice to Piper, since she looked more underfed than Charlotte.

A single word escaped her, filled with desperation and hope.

"Please."

...vVv...

When Henry regained full consciousness, the first thing he heard—or rather, felt—the blonde-haired girl who had originally caused him to faint. She had laid her head on his shoulder and was gazing up at him with concerned blue eyes.

"Henry?" she asked tentatively, in that same high-pitched tone that made his ears ring.

Henry was strong, strong enough that he could push her away. Which is what he did.

Whitney fell backwards into her chair, the swivel chair that Dr. Meadows had been sitting on before.

"What was that for?" she yelped.

"Sorry, but I don't let random strangers lay on me," he retorted rudely.

Whitney pouted. "I thought we were more than that, Hen-Hen."

He had to control his gag reflex. This girl was definitely delusional.

"Since when have I given you the impression that I was even remotely interested? And don't call me Hen-Hen. What're you even doing here?"

She didn't back down from his blatant rejection. "I heard what happened, Hen-Hen," she said, completely disregarding his earlier request, "I wanted to come and see how you were."

He was going to murder whoever told this nuisance about his incident. However, he couldn't deny that she actually cared enough about him to take time out of her day to come check on him.

"I'm fine," he responded gruffly, "Now please leave me be."

"Oh, but I can't, Hen-Hen. I have a special message for you," she replied eagerly, leaning in, "It's about your _friend_ , Charlotte." She spat out the name like it was poison.

His attention successfully captured, he listened with bated breath.

"But," she continued, and his heart dropped, waiting for the inevitable conditions he would have to accept before he could hear the message, "I need you to do a favor for me."

"What do you mean?" he asked intently, willing to do anything.

"Kiss me."

All right, he lied.

"Why?" he asked, recoiling.

"You want information on Charlotte, you have to kiss me."

He almost rejected her, but an image of Charlotte popped in his mind guiltily. He had to do this for her. She was depending on him.

Still, the thought of touching Whitney, let alone kissing her, was repulsing. But Henry had no choice.

Whitney smirked, sensing that victory was nearing. Henry thought quickly. Almost inadvertently, he thought: _What would Charlotte do? She would find a loophole._

And just like that, a lightbulb went off in his head. Whitney hadn't specified _where_ he had to kiss her…

Swiftly, he pecked her on the cheek and got out of her range as fast as possible.

A sly smile curved her lips. "Playing hard to get, I see. It has to be a proper kiss. On the lips."

"No," he stated flatly, "I abided by your terms. You wanted a kiss, I gave you one. Now tell me about Charlotte."

"Fine." Whitney exhibited a magnificent pout. "It's almost like you abhor me, Hen-Hen."

 _I do,_ Henry answered silently, but wisely didn't reiterate his thoughts. "I'm waiting."

"Okay, here's the scoop." Whitney lowered her voice conspiratorially. "My uncle's Ringo."

" _What?!"_ Henry yelled.

" _Shh_ ," whispered Whitney, panicking, but her warning came too late. Four people came barreling in: Ray, Henry's parents, the doctor, and the nurse on duty.

All four were speechless upon seeing the scene in front of their eyes. Henry, propped up on the bed by his pillow, and Whitney, seated in Dr. Meadows' leather chair, wide-eyed.

Ray found his voice first. " _What is going on in here?_ "

Whitney began to try and placate the group. "There's a perfectly good answer for that, Mr—"

"Manchester."

"Like I was saying, Mr. Manchester, I was just informing Henry about a recent development at school," Whitney lied effortlessly.

It sounded strange, hearing Ray being called "Mr. Manchester." Everyone addressed him as Ray, and he preferred to keep it that way.

"And what development is this?" Ray interrogated her, trying to lock eyes with his sidekick.

Whitney glanced helplessly at Henry, who thought fast.

"Jasper has a girlfriend," he blurted out.

"Who?" Henry's mother piped up with curiosity.

Henry looked at Whitney, urging her to jump in.

"Me," she said quickly.

Ray raised his eyebrows; he wasn't buying it. "Henry?"

Henry closed his eyes in exasperation and lifted them again. "Yes, she's dating Jasper," he confirmed in a strangled voice.

"Oh," Henry's mother peeped. It seemed that everyone except for the hospital staff was taken aback by this revelation.

"Well, if that's all…" Ray trailed off, still trying to make eye contact with Henry. Henry deliberately avoided his eyes. The superhero left the room, Whitney hopping off the chair to join him, giving Henry a meaningful look. She would return later.

"Well, while we're here, we're wondering what you wanted for lunch," Jake said, trying to defuse the awkwardness lingering in the room.

Henry crossed his arms. "Can we order a pizza?"

Jake shook his head mournfully. "I suggested that to your mother, but apparently this isn't the right time to be indulging in pizza."

"It isn't!" Siren objected, "Henry should not be eating things that are a hazard to his health!"

"C'mon, Mom, that's never stopped you before," Henry persisted stubbornly.

Siren's arms folded themselves across her chest. "You two are ganging up against me? Oh, I see how it is. Still no pizza."

"Darn it," Jake swore, "We were so close. One more statement and we would've cracked her."

"We could always order one behind her back."

"I'm still here, you know." Siren glared at her husband and son sternly. Henry laughed.

...vVv...

"My, my, look at this," a sinister voice cackled.

Charlotte lifted her head weakly from where she was hunched on the grimy floor, Piper doing the same beside her.

Ringo seemed to materialize from the darkness, his eyes glinting malevolently. "Two poor, helpless girls trapped by a clown and desperately hoping for a hero that will never come to save them."

Charlotte was inclined to snap back, but her throat was aching from lack of water in her body. She simply chose to glare at him.

"Of course, if they do come to save you," the clown continued, "I know exactly how to defeat them. It's a lose-lose situation for all of you."

Charlotte allowed herself to quake in fear. "Don't," she rasped.

"Why should I follow the orders of a dying girl?" he sneered, leaning against the bars of their cell, "If you don't perish from starvation, I will find other gruesome methods to kill you. The other girl can die too, as both of you are worthless to my cause."

Charlotte was having trouble coming to the terms with the word 'dying.' She didn't want to die, not just yet.

"Why'd you force me to hand over information, then?" she whispered challengingly, her scratchy voice somehow reaching Ringo's ears.

"Excuse me, I meant that you are _no longer_ useful to my aims," Ringo tossed back casually, like they were discussing the weather, "I have all the information; now I can either kill you both of you or use you for ransom."

There was movement next to Charlotte. She turned to see Piper struggling to get to her feet.

"Ah, the little girl protests," Ringo said, smiling in an almost lazy manner, "What can you possibly have against me, little girl?"

"Don't call me 'little girl,'" Piper retorted spitefully, with a surprisingly strong voice, "I'm not a little girl."

"What shall I call you? Would you prefer 'midget'? Or perhaps 'petite'?" Ringo smirked irritatingly, and Charlotte wanted to throttle him.

Instead of lunging at Ringo, which Charlotte was expecting, she answered sardonically, "Oh yes, that would be much better, considering they mean the same thing. It's a wonder why we hate you."

Ringo's mouth curled into a nasty smile.

"Why are you here? What more do you want from us?" Piper spat viciously at the clown, echoing the same questions Charlotte had been just about to ask.

"Nothing. I tire of your presence," drawled Ringo luxuriously, stretching and yawning. Charlotte had to commend him on his remarkable acting abilities; he could've been an evil actor instead of an evil clown.

"And we tire of yours, you malicious little—"

Charlotte tugged her ankle purposefully. Piper looked questioningly at her, at which Charlotte responded with an almost imperceptible shake of her head. Piper returned her gaze to the man still standing at the door.

"You can leave now," she said emotionlessly, positioning herself so that her body was deliberately turned away from him, but her face wasn't.

For the first time, Ringo's face adopted an expression other than his usual smirk or sneer. He looked genuinely curious as to how these girls communicated so effortlessly.

"Well?" Piper prompted, her body swinging around to face him, "What're you dawdling about for? Leave!"

Ringo bared his teeth but said nothing more. He had other matters to attend to.

…

Sunday arrived slower than a snail. Henry was finally released from his confinement and the bandages were removed from his head. He took a nice, hot bath in order to extricate the sticky feeling from his hair.

Henry was feeling refreshed, but his mind was still encumbered with thoughts and plans and whatever else Charlotte-related. He missed her more than he let on. Henry was one of those boys who tried to act like nothing was bothering him, but he was sinking into a quagmire of pain and depression so quickly it was near impossible to lift him out of it. The only thing keeping him tethered was a slim rope of hope.

Henry was so depressed he refused to answer any questions on Charlotte's whereabouts. Sure, he and Ray knew where Charlotte was (an abandoned warehouse, where Dr. Minyak and Nurse Cohort had hatched a plan to deplete Ray's indestructibility), but the media and his classmates didn't nedd to know.

He missed both of them terribly.

And so, Henry was always in one of three places: his house, school, or the Man Cave. He spent most of his time in the Man Cave, as he and Ray worked on an elaborate scheme to rescue Charlotte and Piper. He often lied to his parents that he was crashing at Jasper's when he was actually camping out in the spare bedroom in his boss's hideout.

One such night, Ray and Henry were devouring wontons and soda (actually, it was just Ray; Henry's meal was untouched and he was sipping his soda with an absentminded look on his face) when the emergency alarm went off.

"I'll get it," said Ray the same moment Henry said, "You get it." The two knew each other so well they were in sync.

Ray jumped to his feet and hurried to the monitor.

"It's a video and voice call," he announced unnecessarily.

"Make sure you don't turn the camera on from our end," called Henry.

"What do you take me for, an amateur? I know what I'm doing."

He hit the answer button and adjusted the controls. They heard some static from the other end, before a scene appeared before the pair's eyes.

It was a rather bizarre view. All they could see was blackness. Whatever the scene was being recorded on was face-down on the ground.

"I'm sorry, who's this?" Ray asked uncertainly.

A chilling voice reached their ears. It didn't sound at all frantic. "Captain Man, is that you?"

"Yes, now state your emergency," the superhero replied uneasily, glancing at his subdued sidekick.

The voice laughed caustically. "Oh, I'm not the one who's in danger," he (they assumed) said.

Ray squinted at the screen. "I swear I've heard that voice before," he muttered, before raising his voice, "Who are you?"

"You don't know me, but you know of me," the voice continued eerily, "I left you a note a few weeks back, when your precious sidekick's sister was snatched. Clearly, that wasn't enough."

Henry leapt to his feet, completely abandoning his dinner, and darted to Ray's side, his fists clenched.

"Ringo," the two snarled together, with Henry adding, "you heartless son-of-a—"

"Not now," Ringo reprimanded condescendingly, "not while there are children present. I'm sure we'll have time to exchange pleasantries later."

Henry's heart stopped. Ray's muscles tautened.

The camera swung to two girls bound and trussed to the wall behind them. Henry's eyes narrowed and he bit back a shout.

Charlotte and Piper looked _awful_.

Piper's cheeks were sunken as if she'd been starving herself (knowing Ringo, he made sure she was starving). She struggled vainly against the rope trapping her limbs. Her face was haggard and she looked not at all like herself.

Henry looked in Charlotte's direction for some solace, but then he quickly averted his eyes.

Henry couldn't bear to give her a second glance, because the first one told him everything he needed to know and it broke his heart. Charlotte was in a similar condition as Piper, except she was much thinner.

But what really tore Henry into shreds was the look in Charlotte's eyes. Hunger, despair, and desolation all clouded her normally beautiful brown eyes, darkening them into a pool of onyx.

His nightmare had come to life.

"Like what you see?" Ringo sneered, his face obscuring the camera, "Well, I'm afraid that's not the last you'll see of them. But I didn't call you just to let you see their faces. I have a demonstration for you to witness. Remember the baby girl that was kidnapped less than a week ago?

Ringo's face momentarily disappeared as he moved to the side. Henry's eyes were blazing with unsuppressed fury, his mouth on the verge of spitting out vengeful insults.

Ringo returned, cradling a baby girl in his arms. Neither of the superheroes could blame the girl for wailing aloud as she was manhandled by the villain.

"What's her name again? Lara, Laura—?"

"Laurie," Ray ground out, aware that Ringo knew the girl's name perfectly well.

"Aww, such a sweet baby," Ringo cooed, his lips curling into a malicious smirk, "Too bad that—"

"Don't you dare harm her, you sadistic clown," Ray spat.

Ringo's baleful grin increased in size. "What're you going to do then? What's that quote again? Ah, 'sticks and stones will break my bones but words will never hurt me.' There's nothing you can do, Captain Man and Kid Danger."

Ringo withdrew a sharp, gleaming knife from his pocket and Henry and Ray yelled out in unison.

"No!"

But their pleas fell upon deaf ears.

Ringo's obsidian eyes glittered with undisguised venom as he raised the knife. Laurie screamed louder, sensing that her death was approaching.

"Evidently, my warning wasn't palpable enough. This is a little preview of the events to come if you don't heed my request within the next week. Except, the stakes will be higher."

Henry and Ray watched helplessly as Ringo's knife was brought down, sinking into the neck of his next victim, and they listened as her last cry pierced the quiet of the Man Cave.

A shiver went down their spines simultaneously, Ringo's deadline echoing in their minds.

 _One week._

* * *

 ***cackles evilly* Welcome to the Cliffhanger Hotel, where I control how long you stay!**

 **I hope this made up for my disappearance for the last two months.**

 **I've been back from vacation for almost a month, but I never gathered the courage to write this up, knowing what was going to occur. But alas, I have written it and I am proud of myself.**

 **Thank you so much to whoever reviewed/followed/favorited/read this story! Your support means so much to me!**

 **Expect a new chapter in the coming weeks!**


End file.
